The blackness was absolute.

Not city-night dark, but suffocating like the air itself had been swallowed.

Raven froze, her pulse roaring in her ears. Somewhere to her left, a crate toppled over with a deafening crash.

“Raven!” Jaxon’s voice was close, urgent.

“I’m here!” she called, but the words barely left her mouth before a rough hand brushed her arm. She jerked back, swinging the pipe wildly, hitting something solid.

A hiss of pain followed and then footsteps, quick and ...